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Salmonella and Chicken: What You Should Know and What You Can Do

Autumn is a popular season for sporting events, and whether you are tailgating or channel surfing, chances are that barbeque chicken and spicy wings will make an appearance. Learn how to protect yourself from Salmonella.

Case Count Map

In a multistate outbreak linked to Foster Farms brand chicken, seven outbreak strains of the bacteria Salmonella Heidelberg have sickened over 300 people—40% of whom were hospitalized. Although health officials have not reported any deaths, the high hospitalization rate is twice the norm.2 An unusually high rate of blood infections (about 14%) requiring treatment with antibiotics has been reported in this outbreak.

Dr. Chris Braden, head of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases and an infectious disease specialist, notes that three of the seven identified strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics and two are resistant to two types. Although CDC does not know what caused these strains to become resistant to antibiotics, Braden says, "In general, antibiotic use in food animals can result in resistant Salmonella, and people get sick when they eat foods contaminated with Salmonella."

What You Should Know

While it is not unusual for raw poultry from any producer to have Salmonella bacteria, it is uncommon to have multidrug-resistant Salmonella bacteria.1

Salmonella Heidelberg is a type of non-typhoidal Salmonella, an important cause of human illness in the United States and often linked to poultry.

Annually, non-typhoidal Salmonella causes approximately 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, 450 deaths, and an estimated-$365 million in direct medical costs in the United States.4

About 100,000 illnesses per year are attributed to drug-resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella.4

Antibiotics are widely used in food-producing animals. According to data published by the Food and Drug Administration [PDF - 5.26MB], more antibiotics are sold nationally for food-producing animals than for people. This contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food-producing animals.3

Physicians rely on antibiotics for treating patients with complicated Salmonella infections. Some non-typhoidal Salmonella are showing resistance to the following:3,4

Ceftriaxone

Ciprofloxacin

Multiple classes of drugs

What You Can Do: Advice to Consumers

People who think they have become ill from eating chicken associated with this outbreak should inform their health care provider.1

Who is Most at Risk?

Although anyone can get a Salmonella infection, children younger than 5 years, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk for serious illness. In these people, swallowing a relatively small number of Salmonella bacteria can cause severe illness.5

CDC and the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend that consumers and retailers follow thesefood safety tipsto prevent Salmonella infection from raw poultry produced by Foster Farms or any other brand:1,3